Chief to lead staff (7)
I believe the answer is:
headman
'chief' is the definition.
(I know that chief can be written as headman)
'lead staff' is the wordplay.
'lead' becomes 'head' (heading is a kind of leading).
'staff' becomes 'man' (as in staffing or manning a particular place).
'head'+'man'='HEADMAN'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for headman that I've seen before include "Chieftain" , "Boss" , "Village chief" , "Leader" .)